Method of building tire carcasses



Nov.- 8, 1932. F. B. PFEIFFER METHOD OF BUILDING TIRE CARCASSES Original Filed Aug. 7, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet l .W M M.

Nov. 8, 1932. F. B. PFEIFFER 1,887,362

METHOD OF BUILDING TIRE. CABCASSES Original Filed Aug. '7, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 8, 1932. F. B. PFEIFFER 1,887,362

METHOD OF BUILDING TIRE CARCASSES Original Filed Aug. 7, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I4 6 M 55 i III I Z w 2, w jg Id I fi U5 AV 4 45 5 mu /0 E U wuentoz Patented Nov. 8, .1932

UN D S AT S r nnn B. rr nrrrnn, on snow, orrro. assrsnonro snrnnnrmonunnnn comraivv, on nannnnron, 01110, A CORPORATION or DELAWARE iunrnioio on nurnnnvo rmn oanoassns if 5 Original application and August 7, ls zaseiiai-no. 384,027. Divided and this 7 1930. Serial This invention relates to the-manufacture of pneumatic tires, and particularly to meth-' ods employed in building up the body orcarcass of a tire casing or ofa flat or semi flat band for forming atire casing.

My objects are to effect economies in labo and material cost in this field, and toimprove' the quality and uniformity of the product. This application is a division of m prior application Serial No. =384,027-, filed August- 7 1929.

In the manufactureof cord tires, a long length of cord fabric is rubberized in a callender, rolled with a liner, and thencut diagonally of the threads into shorter lengths on a bias-cutter. It has been common practice to make these lengths into a band which is stretched over the tire-shaped core, or over a semi-flat form known as the drum or pul ley, of a tire-building machine; although sometimes the plies of carcass fabric are wrapped directly onto the core or form without first making'tlieminto a band, especially with clincher-bead and the smaller sizes of .inextensible-bead tires.-- The bead-cores are incorporated in the edges, said edges are boundwith fabric chafing strips, and after the beaded carcass has been made, the'tread rubber and side-wall rubber are added while the carcass is still on said coreor drum.

After the rubberized fabric is cut to width from the large calender-roll, it has commonly been stored in liners for some time and then delivered direct to the'tire-builder or else made into bands as described, and these bands are stored in flat condition with liners on the. inside and between adjacent bands tokeep them from sticking together, before being made up into tires. I

Prior methods have thus involved the use of expensive liners 0r, separators, a large stock of material in process, floorspace and facilities for storing,,deterioration of stock due to dirt, age and light, loss of tackiness necessary for good workmanship, extreme care in handling andstorage inorder to avoid crumpling, and uneven shrinkage which make it 'diflicult to deliver to'the tireoir. builder a band of specified width and length application filed October "29 No. 491,947. f i a v V V H and often results in a wrong angle of cord I and non-uniform ply lapping at the beads.

These objections are obviated in my pres-V ent invention, which dispenses .with the use of liners, including those which have hereto fore been used for storage of bands-,and sub stitutes a novel. systemof transfer and direct utilization of the rubberized fabric from-the. biascutter to the tire-building. form, thereby-zeffecting numerous economies in'tire building,--and improving ty. of the product; 7 V. .7

Of the accompanying drawings, .1 1 I .Fig.1.is a side elevation, partly in section showing a band-building and transferring apparatus adaptedto carry outmy improved method. j x;

. Fig. 2 is an end elevation sharing the principal elements of the band-builder.

Fig. 3 is aplan view illustrating the meth-; 0d of transferring a band from. the band,- building' drum to the tire form with whichv said drum istemporarily associated.

Fi 4: .is a diagrammatic-view illustrating the oor plan or layout of a manufacturing unit including abias cutter,togetherwithband-builders, tire-building machines and as: sociated' apparatus for manufacturing the carcasses of tires by'the semi-fl t building.

practicingmy invention.

Fig. 5 is a VlGW. similartogFig, 4 illustrating a modificaton in which the carcass bands are built directly on the tire machine drums by the flat-band'm'ethod.

Referring at firstto the apparatus illustrated in Figs. '1 to 4, 10 in Fig. 4 isa bias fabric-cutting machine which may be of the type described in my prior application, Sc rial N 0. 285,555, filed June 15,1928, said' machine including a table 11, a trackway 12 diagonally placed thereover, arotary cutter and driving motor 13 adapted to .travel across the table on said track-way,-a fabric supply roll llfor storing in a liner a longlength, wide, calendered strip of the usual straight-laid, rubberized cord fabric and a; step-by-step. fabric feeder; 15 of variable throw. This cutter is'adapted to cut off 'suca cessive individual-ply lengthsof bias rubmethod in accordance with one. mode of ter and closely adjacent thereto, each group containing the necessary instrumental- 1t1esarranged in rows. In the first row are theracks 16 for hanging the lengths of biasf-abric which are taken off .the cutter table 11. and transferred to said racks by an at tendant. In the next row are stands 17 includ-ing the rotary band-building drums 18 employed in the preferred mode of practicing my invention. In the third row are turret drumracks 19 for receiving the drums with the bands thereon from the band-buildingoperator and making them available'to the tire-building operator and in the outer row are the tire-building stands or machines 20 with their permanently-mounted, collapsible, rotary tire-building forms21 of the semi-flatband type. 1 There are narrow aisles between each of the sub-units, andbetween the bias cutter 16 and those fabric racks 16 which are located oppositeisaid bias cutter,

. and each of the band-building-stands 17 is within easy reach 'of a fabric rack on one side and a drum turret 19 on the other side,

while the corresponding tire machine 20 is within easy reach of the drum turret 19.

The band-building apparatus-or stand 17,

as shown in Figs. 1 and'2, consists-essentially of-a standard 22 provided at its upper end with a horizontal bearing 23, a cylindrical band-building drum 18 journaled to rotate freely on-the standard 22 andjhaving an internal spider 25 and a central shaft or journal member 26 1nounted to turn in the hearing 23 and normally free-to bewithdrawn endwise therefrom; -By extending the shaft 26 to provide journals at both ends of the drum as shown, I provide for transferring said drum directly across the intervening space and associating it with the tire-building form 21 as indicated in Fig. 1 or for I transferring it directly across and associating it with-the turret rack 19'to be later associated with the tire-building form, without in either-casehaving to reverse the drum in efiecting such transfer.

The band builder may also include, as shown in Figs. 1' and 2, a 'power-driven-roller 27 for rotating the drum 18 throughthe medium of'tirematerial such as a strip of cushion gum which is adapted-to be fed onto such=drum or ontocarcassfabric wrapped on the drum, over said roller. The roller is mounted for movement toward and away from the drum by being journaled on a frame 28 pivoted to a standard 29, and has chain-and-sprocket gearing 30 associated therewith for rotating the roller, the elevation of the said arm being accomplished by i a spring 81, and its depression by a pedallever 32, with which said spring is connected, and an intermediate link or connecting rod 83. The strip feeder is not claimed as a part of my invention.

The carcass-building machine 20 includes a semi-fiat form or drum 21 of known type which has depressed marginal bead seats 34 and maybe made as'usual in segments so as to be; collapsible, said form having an internal chuck 35'or means for supporting the seg-,=

ments and operating the key, segment, and said chuck being permanently mounted on a rotary shaft 36. Detachable guide rings 37 are shown associated with the margins of the form for application thereon after the first.

orinner carcassband has been placed on the form to aid in concentrically locating the, bead cores. The band-building drum 182 is usually made slightly smaller in diameter than the" corresponding form 21 or against the-bead coreswhich have been located on a previously-placed carcass; band, and willrequire but little fulling or.

stitching-in to avoid wrinkles. I may, however, make the drum 18 of. substantially the same diameter as the body of the form 21,.

andrely entirely on a stitching-in operation to shorten the edges of the plies. The use of a cylindrical band-building drum facilitates the splicingof the ends of each fabric ply over its wholewidth as compared with making the band on a semi-flat form'such as 21. I

The outer end of shaft. 36 is formed with a coupling socket 38 to'receive the end of jour nal shaft 26 on; the drum 18 and maintain said-drum in axial alignmentwiththe building form 21. The'ends of the arms of the.

turret rack 19 are formed with similar'sockets, as will be understood without special.

illustration.

' In carrying out my invention with the above-described apparatus, the strips of biascut carcass fabric are taken fromthe table 11 of the cuttingmachine by an attendant and placed upon the various racks 16within concarcass-buildingform 21, so that the carcass band will require stretching to place it on the form and its edges which are to form the beads will then. contract to. or toward thebead seats on thevenient reach of vthe operators at the'bande building stands 17, each operator taking strips successively'and wrapping them about" the drum 18 while turning said drum b'yhand' to form a carcass band 89thereonto the exact" length required and generally of two-ply construction with'the threads-in one ply'at an.

oppositeangle-to those-in the'adj' acent ply;

If inter-ply strips of cushion gum are to be incorporated in the band they are rolled on with the aid of the feed roller 27. When a band has been completed, the drum718, With the band thereon, is transferred directly across without turning it end-for-end and placed on one of the arms of the turret rack 19 and the operator then takes an empty drum from another arm of said rack and proceeds to build another carcass band, which may be of a different width from the first band, to facilitate bead formation at the carcass edges, these bands of different Widths being conveniently alternated on the arms of the turret racks.

The tire-machine operator takes a drum 18 with its band from the turret rack, inserts its journal in the socket 38 of shaft 36 to support said drum and align it with the tire form 21, and then works the carcass band 39 off from the drum 18 onto the form 21 while said form and drum are being rotated,'with a progressive local stretching of the band accompanied by axial movement thereof. This operation is illustrated in Fig. 3 and may be accomplished with the aid of a suitable tool known in the art, such as a thin, pointed rod or the hand roller 40 shown in this view, equipped with handles 41 and a guard or keeper 42. When the band has been fully "worked onto the form, the rotation of the latter is stopped, the hand tool is withdrawn, and the tension of the band may be equalizedby hand in the usual manner. The operator then restores the empty drum 18 to one of the arms of the turret rack 19 and proceeds with the building up of the carcass and the complete tire-forming band with a plurality of carcass bands 39 and auxiliary materials, including flippered bead cores, bead chafer strips, side-wall rubber and tread rubber; these components being manipulated and rolled into firm adhesion with each other in a known manner.

This band-transferring means may also be used with tire machines having tire-shaped cores, and any suitable modification of the devices for associating the drum 18 with sue a core may be effected ifrequired.

The above described system of tire building increases production and gives better results than methods formerly employed, in that it provides for direct and continuous progress of the carcass materials from the bias cutter through the stages of band-building and incorporation in a flat or semi-fiat or tire-shaped carcass on a tire machine. There is no intermediate storage of the carcass-forming strips or of the carcass-forming bands in cloth liners, but the rubberized strips are taken from the bias cutterwhile they retain substantially their original tackiness, are directly madeup into a band of transversely-flat, circular shape and of the exact length required, brought in that shape and length to the tire-building form, transferred to. .said: form and there incorporated in the carcassgHen'cethe maximum adhesionof the. plies'is obtained, and the evils ofuneven: shrinkage,' crumpling and. distortion.

from lying unevenly in liners, accumulation of dirt, and deterioration from'other causes are avoided." Itfwill be apparent-that'many of: the advantages :Of the. described-band'- madeinto'bands. V I 1 Thexde'scribed advantages are also largely.-

incident to a the modified process performed with theza'pparatus illustrated iinlpFig 5, in

which the intermediate .band building; and 7 transfer are omitted and, the .strips .of bias fabric from .the'table 11 0f ai'biascutter 10 aretaken and hung on racks .16Qand from there directly. wrapped upon the flat orieylindricalad'rums 21 ofa series oftire building machines20 disposed in tworbws onxoppo site" sides of the bias cutter; In this. embodi.-

ment I have shown achafer-strip .rack 43 alongside of each tire machine, and between the rows of tire-machinesinline with the bias cutter 10 I have indicated a table 44 for cutting .cushion gum strips and an adj aoent rack 45 for holdi'ngrolls 46 offlthe strip ma terial to be incorporated in'the tire carcasses which are being built on the drums 21*. This full-flat tire building is adapted to clincher bead tires and the smaller sizes of inextensible-bead tires, Where the formation of the- .carcass does not require the building of an ously modifiedwithout departing from'the scope of my invention as defined in the claims, and any suitable apparatus may be employed in carrying out said process. I

I claim:

1. The method of building pneumatic tire carcasses which comprises building a rubberized fabric band in transversely-flat, circular shape and predetermined length, aligning it while in its original shape and length with a carcass-building form of larger diameter, and stretching and transferring it onto said form. a a

2. The method of building pneumatic tire carcasses which comprises building a rubberized fabric band in circular, flat shape, bringing it in its original shape and length to a carcass-building form, and transferring it to the form by rotation accompanied by progressive local stretching and axial movement.

3. The method of making a pneumatic-tire carcass structure which comprises building an endless band of predetermined length out of rubberized fabric, maintaining the band in that length until used, transferring it to a carcass-building form and incorporating it in the-carcass structure.

4. The method of building pneumatic tires which comprises bias-cutting, from a roll-of the material interwound with a liner, successive individual-ply lengths of tacky, rub b'eri'zed carcass fabric across the width of a Wide strip of the straight-laid fabric of a transverse dimension to form the Width of the p'ly then, Without intermediate storage in a liner, sizing the-indiVidual-ply lengths on a circular former and building them thereon into an endless band while they retain substantially their original tackinss, and incorporating said band in a tire carcass.

5The method of building pneumatic tire casings which comprises bias-cutting succes sive individuaLply lengths of tacky, rubberized carcass fabric across the Width of a Wide strip of the straight-laid fabric, transferring thelengths to an adjacent carcass building apparatus, sizing and forming an endless laminated band of a plurality of saidindividual-ply lengths on a former of the proper circumference While they retain" substantial- 1y their original tackiness, transferring said band directly to an adjacent carcass building apparatus and there incorporating it in a carcass. y

In Witness whereof I have he'reunto set my hand this 27th day of October, 1930. I

- FRED B; .PFEIFFER. 

